Podcasts Deliver Soy Vay’s Story with Impact

Being the most popular Asian marinade in the U.S. doesn’t mean there still aren’t masses of potential converts out there seeking unique flavors to make every ingredient more yummy. That’s why Clorox’s Soy Vay brand turned to podcasts.

“While we have a great base of loyal Soy Vay fans–and are the #1 Asian marinade–we’re still very much in a place of introducing people to the brand and our great tasting sauces and marinades,” said Molly Steinkrauss, associate director of public relations for Clorox.

They chose the medium because they knew their target audience listens. Moreover, podcasts are, “a rich and immersive way to reach our consumer,” she explained. “It’s a great storytelling platform to tell our brand story and what we’re about.”

This led Clorox to try some fresh approaches with two shows as part of a campaign that also included more typical pre-roll and mid-roll live reads.

“Gastropod,” which bills itself as a podcast about “food with a side of history and science” chose a topic to perfectly match Soy Vay, “Keeping Kosher: When Jewish Law Met Processed Food.” Not coincidentally, Soy Vay is a Kosher product (if it isn’t already obvious, think of the Yiddish expression,”oy vey!”).

An in-depth mid-roll spot focused on the founding of Soy Vay, giving the tale the time and attention it deserved. As host Cynthia Graber explained, “It started with a Jewish boy named Eddie in Palo Alto,” who grew up loving Chinese food. Then, as an adult, he tasted delicious Teriyaki skewers that a Chinese-American colleague brought to a potluck. “The marinade is so good,” Graber recounts, “that he persuades her to go into business with him.”

Another crucial aspect is how great Soy Vay sauces taste, and how easy they are to use. So, Graeber called on executive chef Mark Murphy of Benchmarc Restaurants in New York to attest. “I like the original a lot,” he said. “It’s what I would call almost a perfectly balanced marinade.”

Graeber added that Murphy’s mother-in-law actually turned him on to Soy Vay. He explained that, “she would put it on her chicken and it was always perfect.” This, despite the fact that, “she’s not a very good cook.”

Evaluating this spot, Steinkrauss said, “What we like is the natural and native quality of the integration, as well as great content alignment with the product.”

On “Spilled Milk” Soy Vay was the exclusive sponsor for an episode entirely about Teriyaki, culminating with hosts Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton undertaking an honest taste-test of the sauce. (Spoiler alert: they went home with a luau in their mouths, a nod to the Island Teriyaki flavor.) One enthusiastic and satisfied listener even commented, “I will also try it, don’t mind a sponsored post one bit from you guys if they are like this.”

When asked about how well the overall campaign performed, Steinkrauss reported, “This is our first time experimenting with podcasts, and we’ve been pleased with the content developed and download results.”